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“Let’s talk first. Simon?”
“We’re cool, Mom.” Simon had one of his notebooks open and was explaining his drawings and stories to a rapt Charlie.
“For that alone I owe you.” Holly shrugged. “He’s a bit of a loner.” While the fact Simon didn’t have any real friends had made moving him to another school for the upcoming year easier for both of them, his lack of socialization never sat well. Not that she’d had much to say about it. Simon had always preferred his own company, especially after Gray died.
“No one’s ever lonely around Charlie.” Paige sent her daughter such a look of affection Holly felt her own heart twist. “Best thing I ever did. Balances out the mistakes.”
“Eat, girl.” Ursula banged her spatula on the pick-up bell. “Before you fall over. You, too.” She set a hot turkey sandwich—Holly’s favorite menu item—on the table beside Paige’s burger. “I’ll watch the tables.”
Holly interpreted Ursula’s unusual offer as “sit, talk, hire the girl.”
“So.” Holly dug into her dinner to silence her rumbling stomach and nearly passed out from the swooning explosions of thick gravy and perfect butter-roasted turkey. “Sometimes I forget how good a cook she really is. How long are you in town for?”
Paige ducked her head, squeezed ketchup on her burger. “For a while. I was hoping Charlie might go to school here this year. It all depends.”
“On what?” Holly wasn’t stupid, and living with Simon had taught her how to ferret out secrets and lies faster than any detector on the market.
“Those mistakes I was talking about,” Paige said. “Big ones. I’m hoping Charlie won’t have to pay for them.”
An image of Luke’s face drifted through her mind. Mistakes were her theme of the week. But moving past mistakes meant forgiveness. Was that even possible after all this time? Still, she had to admit, the anger normally accompanying thoughts of bad-boy Luke had subsided into a slow, steady bubble topped off with a dash of...interest.
Holly paused. Interest? Holly scrubbed her hand along the side of her neck and winced. She had to be losing it for her thoughts to turn in that direction.
“I’ve always been a bit of a flit-around,” Paige continued as if she didn’t notice Holly’s discomfort. “Moving from town to town. It was how I was raised, but Charlie’s getting older. I’d like her to have a sense of home.”
Desperate to get her mind off Luke, Holly asked, “How’d you find Butterfly Harbor?”
“I didn’t.” Paige shrugged, picked up her burger and bit into it. “Oh, my.” She rolled her eyes as she chewed and swallowed. “Pay me in burgers for the rest of my life. What the heck is in this thing?”
“Ursula’s secret recipe. What do you mean you didn’t find it?”
“Charlie. We’ve been driving cross-country for the past few weeks. Started in Ohio. She’s always had this fascination with butterflies, ever since she was born. She read online there’s going to be a new butterfly sanctuary being built here. When your kid utters the word paradise the second you cross the city limits, it’s hard to say no.” Paige smirked in a way Holly totally understood. “I’d like to make a go of it here. My schedule is flexible for working, so long as I can keep an eye on Charlie.”
“Can I hire Charlie to keep an eye on Simon?” Holly loved the sound of the little-girl giggles dancing through her diner. Maybe it was time to loosen those reins she had on her son. “You said you’re staying at the Chrysalis?”
“Until I can find someplace more permanent. It’s not cheap, but it’s nice and clean. Charlie likes it.”
“But it’s not a home.” Why had Ursula given her green beans? Holly flicked them to the side.
Paige stopped eating, looked out the window as the sun inched down into its bed for the night. “Charlie’s my home.”
Well, if that wasn’t the right answer, Holly didn’t know what was. “Welcome to Butterfly Harbor. And the diner.” Holly picked up her glass of iced tea and clinked it against Paige’s. “Now let’s talk salary.”
CHAPTER TEN
THERE WAS SOMETHING spiritually satisfying about the son of the town drunk pinning a sheriff’s badge to his chest.
Luke likened straightening the narrow tie down the front of his khaki uniform to doing a little jig on his father’s grave. All that was missing was a half-drunk bottle of whiskey and the snap of a leather strap.
Cash let out a huge Monday-morning sigh from the blanket bed Luke had set up in the corner of the office. “Stop reading my mind,” Luke muttered. The idea of taking up residence in Jake’s old office sat about as well as if he’d binged on spoiled leftovers; but now the space was empty save for the desk, chair and various cabinets and bookcases. Luke saw potential. If he got around to fixing the broken window lock and repainting the walls. Some color would be nice, and maybe he’d open up the back wall and install another window behind the...
“Morning, Sheriff.” Fletch lounged against the door frame to what was now Luke’s office, a steaming mug of coffee in his hand and a sly look on his face. “What’s on the agenda for today?”
“Morning. Ozzy in yet?”
“Kid practically lives here.” Fletch angled his head toward the desk at the far end of the room behind him. “Oz? Get in here.”
Luke pocketed the keys that until yesterday afternoon had been in Jake’s possession for the past three decades. “Ozzy, the mayor’s sending over a couple of tech advisors to deliver our new computer system sometime this morning. I’d like you to supervise its installation.”
Ozzy’s pinball eyes brightened for an instant before cautiously narrowing, as if reminding himself he shouldn’t be happy about the change in superior officers. “Okay.”
“New computers?” Fletch sipped his coffee.
“Gil asked me what I wanted,” Luke said. “Computers were top of the list. I’d like to get the past five years’ worth of files and records scanned and stored digitally. Which probably means a lot of scut work for a while. What?” Luke asked when Fletch grimaced.
“Nothing.”
Luke sat on the edge of Jake’s empty desk and looked at his two-man support system. May as well get this out of the way. “Look, I know this sucks. You’ve worked for Jake for a long time, and believe me, I’m not thrilled with how this whole transition played out, but the situation is what it is. The only way this works is if we’re a team from the start.” As much as it pained him to say it, he needed to. “I’m not Jake. I’ll never pretend to be, and while I’m on the same page with a lot of what he did, I’m also looking forward. Butterfly Harbor isn’t what it used to be. We have to adapt. Beginning with morning and afternoon patrols rotating between the two of us.” He pointed at Fletch. “Until I hire another deputy or two.”
“What about me?” Ozzy asked with overly anxious eyes. “I was hoping, you know, with everything changing I might get out of the station occasionally?”
Luke locked himself down against the hope in the young deputy’s eyes.
“Not until I’m sure you’re ready. But you’ll get there.”
“Great.” Ozzy’s neck flushed bright red. “Phones and writing reports it is. I love this job.”
“If you don’t like it, there’s the door.” Luke might feel guilty about a lot of things, but making sure Ozzy was at the top of his game before he hit the streets—even the streets of tame Butterfly Harbor—wasn’t one of them. He wasn’t burying another kid. “Ozzy, I need someone I can count on overseeing all this new hardware. Jake says you’re the best at it, so tag, you’re it.”
Luke held up the list he’d made over the past few days. “We’ve got a vandalism problem we need to tackle. So far it’s been restricted to abandoned and vacant buildings, but I’ve already put in a request with the mayor’s office to get all boarded-up windows replaced. I’m also going to institute a mandatory ID check for spray-paint purchases.” He knew from experience those paints could be used for more than tagging and defacing property. “The mayor wants to attract new businesses, so we need to make Butterfly Harbor a showplace again. Family friendly again. That means making everyone feel safe and secure.”
“Going to mean some long hours,” Fletcher observed.
“Problem with that?” Personally, he’d much rather spend his time here at the station than in the hole of a house his father had left him.
“Not in the least,” Fletch said. “I can use the extra cash.”
